Seasonal variation of mixed layer depth in the north Arabian Sea

The Arabian Sea is unique due to the extremes in atmospheric forcing that lead to the semi-annual seasonal changes. The reversing winds of summer and winter monsoon induce the variation in the characteristics of mixed layer depth. The importance of mixed layer depth is recognized in studying the biological productivity in the ocean. In this paper variability of mixed layer depth in the north Arabian Sea have been discussed. The study is based on the data collected under North Arabian Sea Environment and Ecosystem Research (NASEER) program. The results of the study indicate that there is a significant variation in the mixed layer depth from summer to winter monsoon as well as coast to offshore

Assessment the Impact of Different Hydrated Lime Addition Methods on Fatigue Life Characteristic

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of hydrated lime addition methods as filler replacement on fatigue performance of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). Three types of addition methods of hydrated lime were introduced namely dry HL on dry aggregate and saturated surface aggregate above 3% and slurry HL on dry aggregate, ordinary Lime stone powder was reduced by three HL percentage (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 %). The effect of different methods were investigated on the fatigue properties of HMA using, third-point flexural fatigue bending Test. Pneumatic Repeated Load System (PRLS) was carried out to establish the effect of hydrated lime on the fatigue failure criteria and to select the proper hydrated lime application methods on fatigue behavior of HMA mixtures. The fatigue functions for asphalt mixture with hydrated lime are obtained and compared, and it confirm that the fatigue property of asphalt mixture can be improved using all methods and the addition methods were exhibited different optimality for the result due to its effect . The test results were carried out through the performance analysis using Vesys 5W (2003) to study the long term effectiveness of hydrated lime effect

Recursive residuals for linear mixed models

This paper presents and extends the concept of recursive residuals and their estimation to an important class of statistical models, Linear Mixed Models (LMM). Recurrence formulae are developed and recursive residuals are defined. Recursive computable expressions are also developed for the model’s likelihood, together with its derivative and information matrix. The theoretical framework for developing recursive residuals and their estimation for LMM varies with the estimation method used, such as the fitting-of-constants or the Best Linear Unbiased Predictor method. These methods are illustrated through application to an LMM example drawn from a published study. Model fit is assessed through a graphical display of the developed recursive residuals and their Cumulative Sums

Molecular characterization of Pakistani wheat cultivars using random markers

The genetic diversity among fifteen varieties of wheat was studied by random amplified polymorphic DNA  (RAPD) analysis. By applying 20 RAPD primers, 182 fragments were amplified, out of which 118 were  polymorphic (64.84%). The number of fragments amplified per primer ranged from 10 to 24 with an average of  17 fragments per primer. Primer K-17 produced the maximum number of fragments (24) and all the fragments  were polymorphic. Range of polymorphism percentage was from as low as 0% (I to 15) to as high as 100%  (K-11). The number of fragments produced per wheat genotype varied from 36 to 56 with an average of 47.2  fragments per genotype. The variety Shahkar-95 produced maximum number of fragments (56). Cluster  analysis classified fifteen varieties of wheat into two main groups; three varieties were placed in group I and  the rest of the varieties were placed in group II. Second group (group II) was further divided into three  subgroups; IIA, IIB and IIC. The pair wise similarity values ranged from 54.88 to 82.93% and showed that  genotypes Kohinoor-83 and Pak-81 were the closest with highest similarity value (82.93%), while genotypes Kohinoor-83 and Kohistan-97 were most distinct with minimum similarity value (54.88%).Key words: Cultivar, polymorphism, random amplification of polymorphic deoxyribonucleic acid (RAPD), cluster analysis, genotype

A study on microbial self-healing concrete using expanded perlite

The increasing concern for the safety and sustainability of structures is calling for the development of smart self-healing materials and preventive repair methods. This research is carried out to investigate the extent of self-healing in normal-strength concrete by using Sporosarcina aquimarina – NCCP-2716 immobilized in expanded perlite (EP) as the carrier. The efficacy of crack-healing was also tested using two alternative self-healing techniques, i.e. expanded perlite (EP) concrete and direct introduction of bacteria in concrete. A bacterial solution was embedded in EP and calcium lactate pentahydrate was added as the nutrient. Experiments revealed that specimens containing EP-immobilized bacteria had the most effective crack-healing. After 28 days of healing, the values of completely healed crack widths were up to 0.78 mm, which is higher than the 0.5 mm value for specimens with the direct addition of bacteria. The specimen showed a significant self-healing phenomenon caused by substantial calcite precipitation by bacteria. The induced cracks were observed to be repaired autonomously by the calcite produced by the bacteria without any adverse effect on strength. The results of this research could provide a scientific foundation for the use of expanded perlite as a novel microbe carrier and Sporosarcina aquimarina as a potential microbe in bacteria-based self-healing concrete

Methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine meta-analyses in highest-impact journals

Background Well-conducted meta-analyses are considered to be at the top of the evidence-based hierarchy pyramid, with an expansion of these publications within the cardiovascular research arena. There are limited data evaluating the trends and quality of such publications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine-related meta-analyses published in the highest impact journals. Methods and Results Using the Medline database, we retrieved cardiovascular medicine-related systematic reviews and meta-analyses published i

Performance Evaluation of a Direct Absorption Collector for Solar Thermal Energy Conversion

The solar absorption efficiency of water as a base-fluid can be significantly improved by suspending nanoparticles of various materials in it. This experimental work presents the photo thermal performance of water-based nano-fluids of graphene oxide (GO), zinc oxide (ZnO), copper oxide (CuO), and their hybrids under natural solar flux for the first time. Nanofluid samples were prepared by the two-step method and the photothermal performance of these nanofluid samples was conducted under natural solar flux in a particle concentration range from 0.0004 wt % to 0.0012 wt %. The photothermal efficiency of water-based 0.0012 wt % GO nanofluid was 46.6% greater than that of the other nanofluids used. This increased photothermal performance of GO nanofluid was associated with its good stability, high absorptivity, and high thermal conductivity. Thus, pure graphene oxide (GO) based nanofluid is a potential candidate for direct absorption solar collection to be used in different solar thermal energy conversion applications

Impact of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) on nasopharyngeal carriage in children 2 years of age: Data from a four-year time series cross-sectional study from Pakistan

The dataset described in this paper was collected for a time-series cross-sectional study exploring the impact of 10-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV10) on nasopharyngeal (NP) carriage in children under 2 years of age from a rural population in Sindh, Pakistan. The study was carried out in two union councils of Matiari - Khyber and Shah Alam Shah Jee Wasi (Latitude 25.680298 / Longitude 68.502711). Data was collected on socio-demographics, clinical characteristics and vaccination status using android phone-based application. NP samples were collected using standard World Health Organisation (WHO) techniques, culture and serotyping was done using sequential Multiplex PCR described by Centre for Disease Control, USA. We looked at the carriage rate of vaccine type (VT) and non-vaccine type (NVT) serotypes over time in vaccinated and unvaccinated children. We additionally looked at the predictors for pneumococcal carriage. The uploaded dataset, available on Mendeley data repository (Nisar, Muhammad Imran (2021), Impact of PCV10 on nasopharyngeal carriage in children in Pakistan , Mendeley Data, V1, doi:10.17632/t79h6g97gr.1), has 3140 observations in CSV format. Additional files uploaded include a data dictionary and the set of questionnaires. The dataset and accompanying files can be used by other interested researchers to replicate our analysis, carry similar analysis under varying set of assumptions or perform additional exploratory or metanalysis